Above: the Dominican Republic (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Dominican Republic’s economy is projected to grow by 4.5 percent in 2014, according to a projection from the International Monetary Fund, which recently concluded a visit to the country.

That projection comes after an estimated 4 percent GDP growth in 2013, according to the IMF, which said the country’s economic developments last year had been “better than expected,” according to Przemek Gajdeczka, who led the recent IMF mission.

“The mission welcomed the authorities’ commitment to macroeconomic stability and recommended setting more ambitious targets for fiscal consolidation,” Gajdeczka said. “It advised the authorities to develop a medium-term fiscal strategy to lower government borrowing requirements more rapidly and rebuild fiscal buffers that would also facilitate the accumulation of international reserves.”

The purpose of the visit was to conduct discussions for the Article IV consultation and a second post-programme monitoring with the Dominican Republic, the IMF Said. The trip included meetings with senior central bank and government officials, private sector representatives and union leaders.

“Financial system indicators are broadly satisfactory,” Gajdeczka said. “The average capital adequacy ratio of the banking system as of December 2013 was 14.6 percent and the non-performing loan ratio declined to 1.9 percent. The mission welcomed the progress made in implementing risk-based supervision and advised to contain the financial system’s lending to the public sector.”

The next IMF mission to the Dominican Republic is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year.